


Less punching, more hugging

by timeloop



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Hugging, M/M, Pining, Requited Love, jumping to conclusions which causes the angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-24
Packaged: 2018-01-16 21:24:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1362268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeloop/pseuds/timeloop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Tony get together because of a punching bag.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Less punching, more hugging

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine.  
> Apology in advance for the rushed ending!
> 
> I found the art!!  
> Here: http://chakoiking2000.tumblr.com/post/29898477617

_“Iron Man, here! Could you pose for us over here please!”_

_“No, look here! Our magazine has more readers!”_

_“Would you mind flipping the faceplate up, Iron Man?”_

_“Mom! Iron Man is looking at me!”_

_Steve had to actually shut his eyes for a moment. The sheer amount of sensory input was overwhelming. People shouting over each other, flashes going off at every second, children screaming and yelling their heads off and people who kept pointing and whispering at him. He hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself look smaller as he pulled his baseball cap even lower over his head._

_“If you keep doing that you’re going to get suffocated by a hat, Cap.”_

_His fingers stilled on the brim of his cap and he turned to see Natasha giving him an amused smile. Steve shrugged, giving her an ‘I can’t help it’ kind of gesture._

_He sighed, “Tell me why we’re here again?”_

_“Because only Captain America would request to be Tony Stark’s personal bodyguard. And well, someone has to protect Captain America.”_

_Steve had to keep himself from laughing at that. It was true, how he wouldn’t allow anyone else to protect Tony after the incident a few months ago. There had been a close call, and it was what had caused Steve to realize that what he felt for Tony was way more than a friendship. Of course he rationalized that it was just adrenaline and endorphins pumping throughout his body afterwards, which was why he had to keep reminding himself that the smiling man on stage now was just that affectionate towards anyone who had saved his life._

_After all, who was counting the number of times Tony had allowed Steve to pull him into a hug just because Steve wanted one?_

_Who was counting the number of times Tony had allowed Steve to sleep in his bed, pulling him in closer as he shivered in the night?_

_Who was counting the number of times Tony had allowed Steve to pull him out of the workshop, just because Steve had said, “I’m worried about you, Tony”?_

_Who was counting the number of times Tony had allowed Steve to see the way he tried to hide the reactor under the sheets because he hated the light?_

_No one was counting, definitely_ not _Steve._

_“I’m done. Hello?”_

_“Cap?”_

_There was a light tap on his shoulder, and his head snapped up to see Tony looking at him oddly. There was a mismatch between his features where his eyes were filled with a soft concern but his mouth was twisted in a small smile, as if he wasn’t sure of his boundaries._

_“Get to the car, Stark.”_

_“Is he—”_

_“I’ll handle him. You’re an open target right now. Even though I doubt that anyone is stupid enough to attack you while you’re in the suit, there are still plenty of civilians around.” There was a commanding tone to her voice that made Steve’s head come back into the moment. She said softly, “Cap, you alright? Do you need a moment?”_

_He shook his head and cleared his throat. “I was just. Remembering some things. Sorry I was distracted.”_

_She looked at him, then nodded her head before pointing to the car._

_________________________________________

Steve glared at the photo in his hand with emotions swirling in his gut. He wasn’t sure what this was supposed to mean. Five minutes ago Natasha had handed him the picture and said, “Saw how you were staring at him that day,” before she left without any further elaboration.

Had he been that obvious? Sure, he’d been a little distracted because he was thinking of Tony, but surely Natasha –

No—

She couldn’t possibly—

No one should ever know. His friendship was Tony was a delicate balancing act where they could bring out both the best and worst of each other and taking it to the next level would be a terrible idea, not to mention the crippling awkwardness if Tony didn’t return his feelings. On the other hand, the more he thought about it the more they could already pass off as a pair. Tony allowed Steve to see some of the hidden parts of him that the rest of the world was completely blind to, while Steve returned that trust by revealing parts of himself he just couldn’t feel would be safe with anyone else who wasn’t Tony.

Steve rubbed a hand over his face. Thinking about Tony was making him feel extremely frustrated. He kept going back and forth between the what ifs and maybes and it wasn’t really helping anything. Getting off the couch, he shook his head and headed towards the gym.

_________________________________________

He didn’t realize that he was still holding the photo that Natasha had passed to him earlier, and he slapped it onto the punching bag before headed to the locker room. Changing into a plain white t-shirt and a pair of khaki training pants, he calmed himself and started stretching before walking back into the gym.

Steve had gotten into position in front of his punching bag, arms raised and muscles tense when the picture he had slapped on earlier stared right back at him. Tony’s smiling face making a silly peace sign with the faceplate up, blocking the view of his beautiful hair. His hair that Steve loved to run his fingers through whenever Tony fell asleep on his shoulder while explaining the modifications he’s made to the suits.

_Punch._

His smile that was a mix of acknowledgement and gratefulness whenever Steve brought him another cup of coffee.

_Punch._

His fingers that would seek Steve’s out when they were watching movies together.

_Punch._

The crimson and gold suit that was one of the main reasons why Steve was still standing here, punching the shit out of this bag.

_Punch._

But most of all what he could not stand about the picture was Tony’s eyes. It wasn’t enough to reflect the intellect, the spark that came from the man within the suit, the amount of _excitement_ that came from those eyes whenever Steve was given the opportunity to stare right into them. How they weren’t just _brown_ , they were life and passion and hope all stemming from Tony that flowed into Steve so very easily whenever they were together.

Steve didn’t realize that the intensity of his punches had been increasing the more he thought about Tony until there was a ripping sound coming from the bag which caused him to withdraw his fists quickly. Leaning forward to inspect the bag, he could see a hole where his knuckle had been slamming into repeatedly from which a thin trickle of sand was flowing out. Steve considered the worn out bag, complete with patches on the sides and top as he lifted it from its hook and placed it on the ground.

He wasn’t sure what came over him in the next moment, but all he could remember was that this sudden _desire_ for Tony was now coursing through every fibre of his being and he could not, no, he _did not_ want to suppress it any longer. So he picked up the punching bag with Tony’s picture still stuck on the side and he hugged it with all his strength, imagining that the brunet was right there in his arms. Steve pressed his face into the bag and closed his eyes, wondering just _how on earth_ he was going to tell Tony about the feelings that were churning about in his gut.

Unfortunately, while the bag was built such that it could take multiple punches from a super-soldier without falling to pieces, the amount of knocks it had taken in its lifetime combined with the intense pressure that came from being enclosed in a choking grip caused it breathe out its last shreds of life and sand began pouring out of the hole that Steve had made earlier. The sand flowed steadily out of the bag, causing it to sag in the middle and the top half to fall backwards slowly with only Steve’s arm holding it up.

The sudden movement caused Steve to look up in shock, and he immediately blushed as he realized the damage he had done. He pulled the bag closer to him just a fraction of a second more, before letting it fall to the ground with a thump. _I have more important things to do right now_ , he thought as he brushed some sand off his pants and headed towards the showers.

_________________________________________

Tony set his tablet down on his bedside table before letting out a yawn and stretching his arms out over his head. He waited till he could hear the satisfying pop before he lowered his arms. He closed his eyes and started tapping absentmindedly on the table, before letting his thoughts revert back to Steve.

Tony wasn’t sure what exactly he felt towards the soldier. Sure, he was always a comforting presence with his reassuring smile and comforting tap on the shoulder. Yes, he could be annoying at times but recently it had become what Tony shuddered to think of as – adorable. The way he would frown ever so slightly whenever someone said something he didn’t understand and Tony could practically _see_ that he was making a mental note to look it up later. Yeah, the man was harsh whenever anyone attempted any foolish heroic acts, but that was only because he knew how much Steve feared losing people. So was it really Tony’s fault that he thought he saw pure unadulterated fear in Steve’s eyes when he though Tony was going to die in his arms?

It had been a terrible call to make just to charge right into the force field like that, but the civilians were trapped and _they_ weren’t protected by a full body armour, they couldn’t afford the time.

Who knew the charge would reverse the electromagnet powering his heart causing him to get electrocuted from inside out?

Who knew that Iron Man would actually get shocked half to death by his own fucking armour?

Who knew that Tony’s last thought had been, “I would have been so good to you, Steve.”?

Tony’s eyes shot open at that last memory. The more he thought back the more it became clear to him just how much he was actually in love with the other man. The way Steve had called out to him with such anguish, the way he felt himself being held like he was a glass doll in Steve’s oh so gentle arms. He swallowed. He was very much in love with Steve and the worst thing was he didn’t feel scared about it _at all._

 _“_ JARVIS, where’s Steve?”

“He is currently in the gym, Sir.”

“Alright. Get the elevator would you?”

“Right away, Sir.”

Grabbing the cup of coffee that had been placed there last night, he made his way towards the elevator.

_________________________________________

What Tony expected to see, was Steve practicing his punches.

What Tony didn’t expect to see, was a half empty punching bleeding out sand into the ground. Walking over to its side, his eyes caught something pasted onto the side that was almost coming off. Placing his cup onto the ground, he leant forward to see what it was. He couldn’t help making a small “Oh” as he saw that _his_ picture was stuck onto the side of the punching bag.

His first thought was _What the actual fuck._ Before it was immediately replaced by _Screw you, Steve Rogers._

What a fool he was to think that he actually had a chance. What _the hell_ was he thinking, that Steve would actually _love_ him?

So what if he allowed Steve more intimate contact than anyone else?

So what if he could sense that Steve was shivering and shaking in the darkness as he stood in Tony’s doorway?

So what if he waited sometimes for Steve to come to the workshop so he could make that ridiculous face and say, “I’m worried about you, Tony.”?

There was the sound of a locker door slamming and Tony bolted for the safety of his workshop, ignoring the rational part of him that was nagging at him to stand his ground and wait for an explanation.

“JARVIS, blackout mode. I don’t want to see anyone right now.”

“Sir, if I may—”

“No, you may fucking _not._ Blackout. Now.”

“As you wish, Sir.”

_________________________________________

Steve ran a hand through his hair, trying to get it to settle as he wiped the last of the water off his body. His hair was a little longer than he liked and it kept falling into his eyes despite his efforts to push it back. He could handle it later. Slamming the locker door shut, he headed back out towards the main room.

The destroyed punching bag was still lying there like a corpse as Steve walked over to it and folded it in half so it was easier to carry. Placing it in the corner of the gym near the dumbbell shelves, he picked Tony’s picture off the bag and slipped it into his pocket.

As he was heading out of the gym to get a broom to sweep up the mess, a mini bot passed by him and zoomed towards the pool of sand, sucking the mess up. There was a sudden crashing sound and Steve turned immediately, only to see that the bot had knocked over a cup of coffee that was near the sand pool.

_Wait, what?_

He blinked for a few moments at the sight of the bot desperately trying to clean up the mess of coffee mixing with sand. Then it hit him.

“JARVIS, was Tony here?”

“Yes he was, Captain.”

Steve knew he wasn’t imagining the coolness coming from the A.I. He crossed his arms and ran through the possible scenarios that could have occurred.

Tony had come to look for him, thought he wasn’t there so he had left. But that didn’t explain the coffee. Maybe Tony had something to tell him, and he didn’t want to drink the coffee anymore so he put it down. No, that didn’t sound right either. Unconsciously he reached a hand into his pocket and ran a thumb over the smooth face of the picture, recalling how it had ignited a spark within him, pushing him forward harder and deeper into a man called Tony Stark and all he had was a measly photo – wait a second – the picture. He thought harder.

Tony must have come to tell him something and was amazed by the busted-up punching bag so he wanted to take a closer look, causing him to see that his picture had been stuck onto the side. But why would he leave just because -- _dammit_.

_________________________________________

_Please don’t say, ‘I’m worried about you, Tony.’ Please for the love of all that is good, do not say that or I will—_

“I’m worried about you, Tony.”

 _Fuck._ Steve had been standing outside the workshop for about twenty minutes now, talking to Tony through the blacked out panels. He had no problem hearing exactly what Steve was saying and he supposed it was to his advantage that Steve could not see his clenched fists as anger and confusion thrashed about within him.

“We need to talk. Could you let me in?” Steve said.

He put on his best deadpan voice, “That’s all? Just _talking?_ ”

“Well… yes? What else are you expecting?”

“You’re not gonna sock me in the face or anything? I’d like to assume you’ve gotten rid of all your pent up aggression and rage?”

Tony was a rather surprised by how incredulous Steve’s tone was as he replied. “What – Are you actually thinking that I would _hit_ you? How the _fuck_ did you even reach that conclusion!”

Tony bit his lip, answering hesitantly. “Well you _did_ paste a picture of me on a punching bag, Cap. How was I supposed to read that? Oh and did I mention that the bag’s busted up to pieces like there was _a lot_ of pent up rage someone needed to release?” He calmed himself, deciding to substitute his wariness for muted anger instead. “If you had a problem with me, we could have talked about it. Contrary to popular belief, I am extremely open to suggestions, especially if they’re from people I trust.”

There was an awkward silence as the full impact of his words sunk in. He slammed a hand on the table after realizing what he had just said.

Steve was silent.

“JARVIS, did I just…”

“Shall I initiate the reverse sequence, Sir? I believe the best course of action right now would be to have a face to face conversation. After all, it would be helpful for you to be able to see the Captain’s body language for yourself, given that I have ran a test and there is absolutely no sense of hostility coming from him.”

“Alright, alright. Do it.”

The black panels covering the glass doors slid up immediately, revealing a very frustrated looking Steve Rogers who was staring at the passcode panel like he could burn it away just by staring hard enough. Then the full force of gaze was turned upon Tony and he actually flinched a tiny bit. The door slid open as Tony stepped closer to it and he took in Steve’s damp hair and fresh shirt.

“So, it really was you in the gym then. I really thought—”

Before he could continue, Steve placed a warm hand on his shoulder and started shaking his head.

“Tony. Just. Listen to what I have to say alright? That was, that was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that. But if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have known how I felt about you and I just, I don’t know how to put this – _this really isn’t the way I envisioned it going –_ but I _–”_

Tony stops him with a firm hand to his chest.

“I’m not expecting anything more from you, Steve. It’s fine.”

The blond narrows his eyes and raises an eyebrow.

“What’s fine?”

Tony takes a step back, an extremely natural reaction to your best friend looking at you like you’ve gone insane. Then he takes a deep breath and reacts with what he knows best. Deflection. His hand is still on Steve’s chest and he tightens it so he’s gripping onto Steve’s shirt.

“You have _no_ right to come here and judge me alright? Hell, I’m not going to stick your face onto a target and start firing at it. And then you have the nerve to come here and go, ‘I’m worried about you, Tony’, like I actually _mean_ something to you and I just – I’m not playing games here, Steve. Either you want me, or you don’t. It’s as simple as that.”

There was a roaring silence.

“Um.”

“What.”

“I didn’t get a single thing that you just said.”

Tony let his hand fall, deciding that _I really do not want to deal with this right now_ , only to have his hand get caught halfway. Steve was holding onto his wrist, and he was staring at Tony intensely like he couldn’t understand what was going on in Tony’s head.

Tony thought with a small smirk, _damm right you don’t know what I’m thinking, Rogers._ What he was about to think next, however, was promptly lost forever as Steve brought Tony’s hand up and brushed his lips over his knuckles.

_________________________________________

To be honest, Steve was acting purely on instinct. At that point of time using words just wasn’t enough for him to explain anything properly, Tony was giving him that _stupid_ smirk like he had won and Steve couldn’t help it. It was so easy to kiss Tony’s hand like it was the most natural thing in the world to do. The other man had froze immediately, all traces of smugness erased from his face.

Steve pulled Tony’s hand upwards such that his fingers were now framing Steve’s face, cupping his cheek. He resisted turning into its warmth and said, “Let’s start again, shall we?”

Tony just blinked at him, his hand stiff and unmoving. But that was alright, Steve just needed him there. He just had to explain everything properly and it would all fall into place.

There was only earnestness in his voice as he said, “I’m in love with you, Tony Stark.”

The fingers tensed up immediately. Steve ignored it.

“The reason why – why I waited so long to tell you, was because I didn’t know I was in love with you. You know how I finally knew? When I was punching that bag and with every punch all I could see was _you._ The way your eyes flash whenever you invent something new, the way your mouth quirks when you see me holding a mug of your favourite coffee, the way you suit up so elegantly and become one with the suit—” Steve took a breath to calm himself “— _god_ , if I listed everything I love about you we’d be here all day. What I’m _trying_ to say is, I hope you allow me the honour of making you as happy as you make me. ”

He looked right into Tony’s eyes, his gut full of trepidation and cautious hope.

_________________________________________

Tony’s hand was on Steve’s jaw. It wasn’t there because he placed it there, but because _Steve_ had put it there. Steve _wanted_ Tony to be touching his face. Steve _allowed_ Tony to touch him so intimately because he was _in love_ with Tony. He really wasn’t sure how he was supposed to process that. The fact that the man he was in love with was staring at him _right now_ , waiting for a response to a confession that had come from absolutely fucking nowhere, well who could blame Tony when he chose to pull his hand away from Steve’s and cross his arms over his chest?

Steve’s face fell at once, the glimmer in his eyes replaced instantly by a hurt so obvious that Tony actually wanted to run away. Instead he cleared his throat and said, “Are you sure?”

Steve didn’t even look at him. “About you? If you even have to ask, it means I haven’t done a good enough job of proving myself to you.” He turned and prepared to leave.

Tony just couldn’t help himself and he shouted, “I specifically reinforced those bags to withstand even your strongest hits, how the hell did you break it like that?”

Steve blushed, not wanting to turn and face Tony. He mumbled, “I was hugging it.”

“I can’t hear you, Steve.”

Steve whirled around, letting his hands fall to his sides. He had probably decided that after all he had said earlier, _this_ was probably nothing.

“I was hugging the stupid punching bag, okay? I missed you and all I wanted to do was hug you. _Jesus._ ”

Tony’s mouth hung open. Of all the possibilities he ran through earlier _that_ would never have crossed his mind, not in a million years. He wasn’t sure how to react when Steve just made a helpless gesture and started towards the door, so he let his body decide for him. Taking large steps towards Steve’s back, he caught the man in a firm hug, resting his head on Steve’s back.

His voice was muffled as he mumbled, “Well, now you can hug me all you want. Spare all the innocent bags, alright?”

Steve smiled, soaking in the warmth of Tony’s body pressed up against him. He turned around such that they were now face to face and leaned down a little to rest his head on Tony’s shoulder.

“Yeah. You’re way better.”

They stayed in that position for a long time.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know rdj is shorter in real life but the way they filmed it made him look pretty tall so....  
> This was inspired by a fanart but i can't seem to find the link anywhere
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
